Flashback Friday: The Pyramid, the Punch, and a Peek into the Past

Transamerica Building, Architectural Drawing from the SF Redevelopment Agency Records - Courtesy of the San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

Welcome back to Flashback Friday—a series where I share some of my favorite weird, wonderful, and occasionally hidden stories from San Francisco’s past. If you’re a history nerd like me, this is your kind of news: the Transamerica Pyramid just cracked open a time capsule buried at its base since 1974. Yes, really. While the rest of us were busy with housing market headlines and AI everything, someone unearthed a literal treasure chest from San Francisco’s groovy past.

Back in the day, the Pyramid was controversial. (Still is, depending on who you ask over a martini.) But love it or not, it’s become one of the most iconic silhouettes in the skyline. And like any good monument, it came with a few secrets underfoot.

The capsule — buried during the building’s original construction — was meant to be opened 50 years later. Inside? Bits of 1970s San Francisco: a Pisco Punch recipe (naturally), a few newspapers, photographs, and other little slices of city life frozen in time.

Now, the items are on display in a newly opened gallery space inside the Pyramid, part of its recent renovation. It’s open to the public and well worth the trip. Whether you’re into architecture, nostalgia, or just love an excuse to visit a landmark with soul, this is a solid reason to stop by.

We talk a lot about San Francisco’s future — housing, climate, reinvention. But every now and then, it’s nice to pause and remember where we’ve been. And if that pause comes with a side of mid-century design and vintage cocktail culture? Even better.